Business & farm

Most clergy are common law employees (if they answer to the congregation, a board, or a denomination) and will receive a W-2, although with some differences from other employees. Clergy who are truly independent may receive a 1099-mISC and be self employed.  Clergy who are common law employees may still need a schedule C if they have side income such as from weddings, funerals, and other honoraria.

The general rules for deducting job related expenses are the same as for employees or other self-employed workers, depending on which you are.  Same with paying estimated taxes.  The IRS has a help center here. https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed


Clergy who have a tax-free housing allowance or a church-provided parsonage can't fully deduct job expenses due to the Deason rule.  You can read more about that in the links below.

http://www.ecfa.org/PDF/2016-Preparing-Tax-Returns-For-Clergy.pdf

https://www.irs.gov/uac/about-publication-517

Turbotax has several FAQs for clergy, start with the one linked below and then use the "related links" to navigate around and find others.


Clergy FAQS https://ttlc.intuit.com/replies/5412422